Abstract

To date the treatment of various cancer types has become much more effective in young patients and fortunately has significantly increased survival rates. Due to these achievements fertility preservation prior to chemotherapy or radiation therapy becomes an important issue. Severe side effects, such as sterility need to be explained to the patient in advance by the physician; however, not all cancer patients are treated in gynecology and many young patients suffering from cancer are treated in medical oncology. Therefore, these colleagues need to be involved in counseling the patients in advance of forthcoming therapy. In this context, the attending doctor needs to inform patients of the possibility of fertility preservation. Thus, contact can be made to a fertility clinic to offer the patient immediate consultation and treatment. Information about the therapy and the side effects on fertility must be given to the patient and the informed consent consultation should include a close person or family member in order to give support. Treatment options should be outlined even those forms of treatment with an experimental character. Options are conventional assisted reproductive techniques, administration of GnRH analogues, oocyte or ovarian tissue cryopreservation and in vitro maturation.